Oftentimes, visitors to a hospital may wish to spend the night in the hospital room with the patient. As a result, hospitals often include guest beds in the hospital rooms for the visitor. However, there is limited space in a hospital room, and during the day, a second bed may be in the way of visitors and the medical staff.
Currently, many hospitals use reclining chairs or chairs that pull out into a bed. Reclining chairs or chairs that convert to a bed are often not very comfortable. Reclining chairs do not fold all the way out in to a bed, limiting the sleep positions of the visitor. Fold out chairs are often narrow, which is uncomfortable for the visitor. Also, when being used as a bed, since the chairs are not the size or shape of a standard bed, regular linens do not fit on the converted chair. This creates a sanitary problem since the hospital cannot easily wash the chairs after they have been slept on. Furthermore, when being used as chairs, reclining chairs and fold out chairs can only fit a single visitor, which makes it difficult for numerous visitors to be in the room with a patient at one time.
Other hospitals use convertible sofas as beds. These have the advantage that the mattress size is the same as a bed and linens can be used on them. However, the ticking of the mattresses are not made of the same material as the ticking hospital beds, which are resistant to liquid spills and leaks. The mattresses are more easily soiled and more difficult to keep clean. Also, sofa beds are not very comfortable, as the mattresses are usually very thin, and the support wires can be felt through the mattress. Also, sofa beds take up large amounts of room even when they are in a closed position. The backs and arms of sofa beds can sometimes block windows, interfering with window and blind operation. Also, most sofa beds pull out to a queen size bed, which is too large for many hospital rooms.
Thus, there is a need for a convertible hospital bed that can comfortably seat multiple visitors during the day and is also comfortable to sleep on at night. There is also a need for a convertible bed that can use a mattress that is the same size as a standard bed and that can use ticking of the same material as hospital beds, so that the bed can be easily sanitized after use.